Kaaradi
The Kaaradi are a subterranean species, which dwell in the dark, wet and cold maze of tunnels known as the Kaarad, the Land (Arad) of Terror (Kaar) in their tongue. Their society is a monarchy which is in the same time elective and hereditary. The Kaaradi aren't the only sapient inhabitant of the Kaarad, since they hav e slaves... and that Those from Below still haunt the Kaarad. Biology The Kaaradi are thin and little creatures, yet muscular and with a lot more stamina that their appearance could lets believe, their average size is only 1m40 for the women'' , 1m45 '' for the men on with the smallest ever recorded were 1m02 for a man and 98cm for a woman, while the tallest were 1m60 for a woman and 1m63 for a man. On average, they weight no more than 45kg (99lbs) and no less than 28kg (61lbs). The Kaaradi evolved from a human or proto-human species (the Ath) roughly a thousand years before the end of the Age of Myth when they migrated from the surface world to the Kaarad. Since they live in an environment without sun, their skin is greyish, with differents shade, ranging from almost white to almost black. Their hair color range from Black to Light Brown, without any Blonde or Ginger. Their eyes and ears also adapted to the Kaarad : the Kaaradi eyes are almond shaped, with the iris having the same range of color than human ones, but their pupils are amethyst and glow in the darkness without light, which allow the Kaaradi to see even without any other source of light than their pupils; their ears are pointy but, dislike elven ones, they have a lobes. Another distinctive feature of the Kaaradi is the fact that they have eight canines, with four of them being significantly larger than human's ones. Some Kaaradi come are born with very distinctive features : a milk-like skin instead of a greyish one, silver hairs and jade's pupils. These Kaaradi bear the Sigil of Shal'vrral and are dedicated since their birth to a training as assassins. The Kaaradi usually live roughly a century of the surface world (since they don't have sun or real seasons in their underworld, the Kaaradi use the cycle of life of a very specil fungus, the Laek'tal, which emit a blue light during roughly 7 months of the surface world, and cease to produce light during roughly four months of the surface, which is why a Laek'tal is offered to every newborn). *They are considered babies until the age of 3, they are then seen as children until their age of 10, when they become sexually mature (but not physically mature otherwise) *Once they are able to reproduce the Kaaradi are seen as young adult until the age of fourty, at which they have finally ended their full maturation *'From 40 to 70' they are considered as adults as their bodies doesn't seem to age much (a Kaaradi who is 70 years old would look like a Kaaradi of 40 for non-Kaaradi) *'From 70 to 90' they are considered old and can't reproduce anymore. They are still in good shape (usually) but weaken everyear; they look like a 60 years old human (with the features of their species, of course) *'From 90 to 100 years old', they are seen as elders and are often unable to move for long time, but their minds are clear (usually) and the Elders are known as the keepers of knowledge and history of their species, so they take care of babies and children, teaching them what it is to be a Kaaradi. *As for the Kaaradi who could live longer than a century (a rarity) they are Known as the Ancestrals, but they are usually deeply affected by their old age and thereforce they lost their minds. They are honored because when they began to lost their memories, they are willingly used as sacrifice to keep the cells of the Gods from Below closed The Kaaradi are extremely resilient to known poisons, which result from a slow and prolonged mithridatism, since the Kaaradi often deal with poisons. The reflexes of the Kaaradi are largely above those of humans, which is partially thanks to their sharp senses and a partially to an intense training since the age of 3. Society The society of the Kaaradi is really a singuliar one, since it revolve around their driving goal since more than 10,000 years : prevent a massive invasion of the surface world by Those from Below and keep the Gods from Below trapped beyond the physical world; the Eternal Vigil of the Kaaradi is then a mean to gather enough strengh to kill those squalid Gods. This purpose led to a society where martial prowess are held in high esteem, which explain why every Kaaradi is trained for war since the age of three. The Kaaradi are slavers, which could put them at odd with other species, but the truth is that those "slaves" aren't seen as tools or things but as esteemed members of the community, with a voice in the local (and even national) choices. This martial goal is also visible in the form of community adopted by the Kaaradi. The communities of life When the surface species have villages, the Kaarad's smallest communities are known as Gatherings. Usually, a newly formed Gathering is composed of roughly 200 Kaaradi and between twice and thrice this number in slaves, with an emphasis on martial Bloodlines, such as the Children of Spears, the Axe Wileder or, since less than twenty years and only for a few Gatherings, the Steelgrinder.A Gathering must also posses at least 40 Diggers, a Blooline dedicated to the collection of ore. The Kaaradi also put an emphasis on what is usually seen by other species as a dishonorable using of deadly poisons when they fight, poisons which are also used on the slave's weapons. Since the Kaarad is a deadly environment, the use of poison is often a mean to survive and protect the slave's life, which is the duty of all Kaaradi who own a slave (and every Kaaradi is gifted by a slave the day he/she is born). Each Gathering swore assistance to its neighbors. The Gatherings are often hidden, the entries looking as small cracks in a wide cave, leading to a dead end to anyone but a Kaaradi or a Slave. The inside of a Gathering is almost always a complex of caves linked together by the Diggers (and the others slave's Bloodlines, while the Kaaradi protect them; it isn't unusual for a new Gathering to lost Kaaradi's lives during the excavation, while the slave's end their work without a loss due to wildlife or Those from Below). The Gathering tend to evolve with the decades, centuries and millenniums; some are still Gathering, but art and beauty bloom in their caves. Others become Bastions, a small town with roughly 3000 Kaaradi and thrice as much slaves. A Bastion is often near at least ten Gathering and the inhabitants of the Bastion must help and protect the inhabitants of said Gatherings. So, the Bastion named Nal'Pakir, hold of the Kaer Family, which is an old and powerful Bastion is populated by 8500 Kaaradi and must help and protect no less than twenty-five Gatherings. Each Bastion is divided in smaller administrative divisions known as Vaults. The core of a Bastion is still the complex of cave from the orginal gathering, but as the population grow, the Kaaradi will extend the borders of their communities inside the nearby wide cave and build powerful walls and reservoirs of fresh water (often with fish inside, which are a core component of the Kaaradi's diet). So far, no known Bastion ever became a City, since the five Cities of Kaarad were built for a purpose and aren't ancient Bastions. Each Cities is divided in smaller administrative divisions knwon as Citadels. The Cities are : *'Galagrön', the First City, carved in a huge stalactite above the darkest abyss of Kaarad, the First City is the fiefdom of the Kiaris Family, whose members are said to be descendants of Kor ra Ath, the mythical figure who led more than half of the Ath to Kaarad at the end of the Age of Myths.The actual Kaaral, the King (Raal) of Terror (Kaar), Kor nal Askerok is the head of the Kiaris Family. Galagrön's surrounding are the deadliest part of Kaarad, with thousand of Others from Below who still haunt the maze of caves while their God was killed millenia ago. *'Téloa', the most northerly City, is often nicknamed the City under the Sky, since it was built in a dead volcano whose crater is so tall that it is said to touch the stars, which are visible from the City. Téloa is the fiefdom of the Irska family, an old ally of the Kiaris Family; the Irska claim that thir mythical ancestor was Drana, the elder sister of Kor ra Ath who followed under the earth. Téloa is famous for its beast-masters, who are able to tame even the wild Bilious Wyrms. The surrounding of the City is mostly made of mushroom plains and fungus jungles were a lot of mammal. Those from Below are almost unheard near Téloa. *'Hartog', known as the Grim City, is the most easterly City of Kaarad; its sole purpose is to contain the Undeads of the Horror Sea and the Mysty Caves who lanch a raid against the Kaarad every year. Hartog is the fiefdom of the Ralkish Family, which were often neutral (and thereforce highly courted) in the great political scheming of the Kaaral's electiob in the past, but the Family has thrown its voice for the Kiaris during the last ones, a choice which shifted the trone to a new dynasty. Hartog is mostly known for its Chapter of the Hellguard. *'Chazra,' the Hold of the Alchemist, is the most southerly City and the fiefdom of the Ssatarkis Family, an old ally of the Turakas Family (the Blious Wyrm Family). Chzara is renowed for its Alchemist Masters, who are able to create the deadliest poisons of Solcu and other incredible poitions. However, Chazra is actually in disgrace since the Dynastic shift revealed that the Hold was also corrupted by the Turakas Family. *'Malatohara' , nicknamed the Nest of Corruption, (previously Drakakur, nicknamed the City of Glory and originaly Nagrund-räm, the Gate of Abydos) is the fiefdom of the Turakas Family, which ruled the Kaarad during 2998 years and lost the crown twenty years ago. It was the longest rule of all the Families, but it turned the Turakas and their City into a nest of corruption, where birth became the sole criterion of upward social mobility and where the driving purpose of all Kaaradi, the Eternal Vigil against Those from Below and their Gods were replaced by a driving hate toward the Asha. With the revelations about the City's corruption, the Turakas Family won't be able to claim the crown of Kaaral until millenia. Social organisation in Kaarad The social organization in Kaarad is dictated by what they call the Eternal Vigil, a purpose which had led to a very complex relation between the civilian and military organizations. Civilian organizations The Kaarad is a monarchy whose Head is named Terror King, Kaaral in the Kaaradi tongue. While the Kaaral has a lot of power on his own (since he his the military leader of the Kaaradi), his powers are still restrained by the High Council, which is composed of the High Priests of the capital (which is the City of the Family who hold the crown), the Heads of the Slave's Bloodlines which are recognized in the whole kingdom, and Maesters from renowned profession, such as the Great Maester of Alchemy of the Capital, or the Great Maester of the Forge. While the King as a great deal of power to the local affairs of his City, the Bastions and Gatherings under his jurisdiction, he can't take decision which could affect others fiefdom withtout resorting to the High Council. The same principle is applied to the Bastions, and even Gatherings, when important decisions must be taken by the Low Council and the Local Council. It is said that this organization is a mean to prevent the corruption and the arbitrary of a possible tyrant. However, during the long reing of the Turakas Family, corruption had grown rampant in their City and its jurisdiction. The Kaaral is both an hereditary title (since the son/daughter of the previous king is often the unofficial heir of the throne) and an elected king : when the previous holder of the title die, the Heads of the Five Families gather and elect a new King. Even the Turakas couldn't put an end to this tradition, which is why they lost the throne 30 years ago, when the Kiaris Famly managed to get enough political leverage to be elected. At a local level, the Kaaradi organise themselves around lineages : the child of a blacksmith is expected to become one, for instance; however, if the children wish to find their own way, they will be encouraged in this way. The Kaaradi are often seen as strange and even evil by most of the other cultures, which is innacurate even if this mistake is understandable : the Kaaradi are highly devoted to their Gods, which ask them to be hardened and without weakness to fight Those from Below. Thereforce, the Kaaradi are trained to fight and kill since the age of 3; cruelty and viciousness are seen as qualities, since the monstruoisities that they fight won't be kind and honorable. It created a culture where prisoners deemed unfit to become slaves are tortured and maimed by young Kaaradi as a mean to teach them how those who dare to stand between the Kaaradi and their goal can be easely subdued and killed. The Kaaradi are also highly arrogants, since they believe that other species are made to be used in their war against Those from Below as their slaves, or sometimes as allies. yet, the Kaaradi could be funny hand have their own sense of humor, often grim and they are able to create real bonds of friendship with others, Kaaradi, slaves, or free members of other civilizations. However, and in a direct contrat with their cruelty against enemies, the Kaaradi take great care of their slaves, for they believe that when the Eternal Vigil will end, when the last God from Below would have been killed, the Slaves will be freed and made citizens of new, beautiful and peaceful Kaarad. This belief explain why beating a slave for no reason is an offense, and killing one, no matter the reason but an open revolt, is a crime, punished by the Nalrkshi-taruk (literally : the Rune of the Severed Mind) the use of a rune carved in the forehead of the criminal, whose connection between his mind and body will be severed, leading to the creation of a mental prison where the criminal is trapped, while his body obey to any orders given to him. Those criminals often end among the Vara'gol as a strength of supplement. However, while the civilian organization is important, the military one is even more central in the everyday of the Kaaradi. Military organization The military organization is the most important feature of the Kaaradi society : every Kaaradi and slave belong to the army and must be trained in the art of war, ompleted by a specific course of civilian skills (in alchemy, blacksmith, etc). The Kaaradi hierarchy is complex each gathering is supposed to have the military power to defeat all bu the most terrific threats. However, the Bastion and Cities have their own troops and often act as the protectors of the realm, facing the greatest ennemies of the Kaaradi. The poor technologic level of the Kaaradi is visible in their weaponry. Every Kaaradi warrior has runes carved in his flesh, which usually range from Minor Runes to common Runes for the lowest rank. Only the upper ranks carve in their flesh, weapons and armors Major Runes. The upper ranks are earned only after a time as a soldier and aren't based on birth; the gender is also totally irrelevant. *The lowest rank in the Kaaradi hierarchy is the one of soldier. A soldier won't wield a sword, an axe or a spear, but only poisoned bronze knives with barbed blade, which produce atrocious wounds even when all the poison has been used in the fight, and the distinctive weapon of the Kaaradi, the Skadra, a straight blade of roughly 60cm fixed on each forearm. The skadra are used as both lethal weapons (since they are poisoned) and a tool to compensate the short stature of the Kaaradi : a soldier is able to use his skadra to literally climb taller enemies to cut their throat. The armor of a Kaaradi soldier is made of leather (usually from a Kiaris) which protect his groin, his hands, his legs and his heart, leaving the rest nude since the Kaaradi favor the speed and agility in a fight rather than the ability to take knocks. Every soldier must also know how to use a bow, which could be useful in some very specific situations. *Just above the rank of soldier is the rank Tel-Aräm, which is granted to the military leader of a Gathering (and is then the hightest rank in a Gathering) or of a Vault. The Tel-Aräm command the soldiers and the slave and is well trained in both physical combat and tactics. If the soldiers are the limb of the Kaaradi army, then the Tel-Aräm are its heart, knowing how to use their soldiers at their best. They use the them weapons as the soldiers, but their armors are made of Ralkish's leather instead of Kiaris's, which give them a better protection at the cost of a lesser agility. A good Tel-Aräm use hit and run tactis to avoid direct combat. The Tel-Aräm from a Gathering are supposed to be outranked by the Tel-Aräm of a Vault, but in practice, it is more common for the leader of a Gathering to have more field experience than the head of the Vault, which could lead to some tensions. *Above the rank of Tel-Aräm exist the title of Kor-Lan (Champion of Fury). The leader of a Bastion and the Head of a Citadels usually hold this title. The Kor-Lan wield a full armor made of leather and bronze, enhanced by Runes (and sometimes Major Runes), a bow, the usual knives and the Udra, a curved sword (usually made of bronze) whose blade is ribbed, which aloow the poison used on it to be equally present on the whole surface of the weapon. The Kor-Lan's primary missions is to coordinate the actions of all the Tel-Aräm under his jurisdiction and to lead most of the military operations of the Kaaradi. The Tel-Aräm from a Bastion and from a Citadel are of equal rank and the most seasoned will take the lead. *The Kor-Lan is outranked by the Kor-Than (Master of Fury), which is wield by the Head of a City. Since there is only four Kor-Than, there isn't really commons armors or weapons, each head equipping himself accord to his liking. To become a Kor-Than, a Head must have proven his worth in the previous ranks, from soldier to Kor-Lan, at least. The Kor-Than manage the defenses of their fiefdoms, being outranking only by the King of Kaarad himself. *Finally, the highest rank is the one of''' Kaaral.' The Terror King is the head of the military for the whole Kaarad. He is the own who coordinate the defense of the whole Kingdom, the Eternal Vigil and the war against other species (such as the Asha). There is also two "ranks" which aren't a part of the classical hierarchy. The first is the '''Nadra-Vara'Gol', or the Order of the Varaguard, the second his the Nadra-Kishan, the Order of the War Alchemists. The Vara'Gol is composed of the most dedicated among the Kaaradi. Its sole purpose is to prevent at all cost the liberation of the Gods from Below and if possible to put those monstruosities to the blade. The Varaguards are the only Kaaradi which wear a heavy armor, made of bronze and Vara, an ore which is nearly impervious to magic. They use the usual weapons of the Kaaradi soldiers with the exception of the Skadra, useless because of their armors, which is replaced by a shield and a spear. Every member of the Order has Major Runes carved in his flesh and equipment. The Nadra-Kishan are just as much revered than the Vara-Gol, but for different reasons : the Order of the War Alchemist create the deadliest poisons of Solcu and is authorized to use them in combat. The Order had developed ingenious weapons which spray the poison with a wide scope. However, most of those weapons are at the experimental stage and are thereforce dangerous for their users. Finally, there is two Covens of assassins, composed only of Kaaradi bearing the Sigil of the Unholy Child, the Coven of the Merciful Sleep and the Coven of the Sorrowful Life. The former use seduction and deceits to get near its targets, killing them in their sleep without letting a clue, while the latter used more direct tactics and terror to kill its prey. The Covens usually take their oders from the High Priests of Shal'vrral, but can sometimes be "lent" to other hands, such as the corrupted Governement of the Commonwealth, often against new slaves for the Kaarad. Among the Urshari Under construction The Slave's Bloodlines Under construction Religion The Monster-Gods The Kaaradi have five main gods, collectively known as the Monster-Gods, even by their follower : *'Koraal', the main Goddess of the Kaaradi, which name mean "Queen of Fury" is the Goddess of Fury, Carnage and Violence, but also the Goddess of Unity, Honor and Given Word. *'Sta'geshal', the "Soul Stealer" is the God of magic and husband of Kor'raal. He is the patron of Magic, Soul-trapping, Hatred, Wisdom, Writing and Knowledge. Those two gods look a lot like humans, but when you look at them they have something wrong in their appereance, which is really disturbing. *'Kalan'fuelak' "The Dark Flame", Goddess whose body is the one of the most voluptuous woman and whose head is the one of a twisted spider, is the Goddess of Mutilation, Sacrifice, Arrogance, but also the Keeper of the newborn and the Home. *Her brother and husband Mandar'marli "The Master of the Forge" which have the body of an enormous Spider but whose legs end with human hands and whose head is a beautiful human face. He is the God of Forge, Crafting, Terror and Disgust. *And finally the Child of the previous two (which look like a Kaaradi with some differences): Shal'vrral, the "Unholy Child", God of Death, Poison, Murder, Compassion and Love. So the Gods are complex creatures : some species could worship those gods but other would see them as only monstrousnesses. Each Great City of Kaarad hold a Temple for each God. The priests of the Gods are among the most terrific members of the Kaaradi society to face in battle, combining the viciousness of the common Kaaradi with a burning zeal in their gods, turning them in deadly zealots in time of war. The Record of the Ashendant is the oldest scripture of the Monster-Gods, which was carved on fourty-four stone tablets. The beings known as the Ashendant by the Kaaradi were the first worshippers of the four oldest Monster-Gods (Kor'raal, Sta'geshal, Kalan'fuelak and Mandar'marli) and possibly of the Gods from Below. The last writing of the Record seems to imply that Those from Below had killed almost all of the Ashendant and that their last hope was to awake :"The Four Oldest, who were sleeping since we forgot them, and the Dark Flame must gave birth to she and her br..." Since the last sentence of the Record is incomplete, the Kaaradi assumed that Shal'vrral was the son of the Dark Flame andd the Master of Forge, hence is name of Unholy Child The minor Gods Those Minor Gods are either Gods of others species worshiped in some Gatherings (often in an unorthodox way) or revered ancestors of the Slave's Bloodlines, such as Athan, the God of the Homekeeper's Bloodline, which his an icon of faith and dedication to his Bloodline. Those ancestor-gods can be widely whorshiped or only at a local level, depending of the notoriety of his or her Bloodline and the spread of saif Bloodline. The Ancient Gods The Ancient Gods are the Gods of the Ath. Even if they aren't worshipped with the same fervor than during the Age of Myth, those Gods aren still revered. The Ancient Gods share a lot of common features with Gods of other civilization, leading to the belief that they could all be facets of the same Primal Gods. Among them, the most revered is Dura'turakas. History Under Construction Relations with other species Under construction Technology Under construction Category: Races